Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 44

February 14, 199724 counties in Florida; 12 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 14, 1997, 1:00 PM EST for 24 counties in Florida; 12 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 14, 1997, 1:00 PM EST (18:00 UTC)
Expired: Feb 14, 1997, 7:00 PM EST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 36 counties

Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bay County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Camden County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Echols County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Ware County, GA

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 71 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 419 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 494 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 92 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

446 
WWUS9 KMKC 141803
SEL4  
MKC WW 141803
FLZ000-GAZ000-150000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 44
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
103 PM EST FRI FEB 14 1997

A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR

   PARTS OF NORTH FLORIDA
       ...INCLUDING THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE                         
   PARTS OF SOUTH GEORGIA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE FROM 100 PM UNTIL 700 PM EST THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND
EVENING.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA TO 35 MILES
EAST SOUTHEAST OF BRUNSWICK GEORGIA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
$$

C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1 1/2
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 480.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 22030.

D...CNVTN DVLPG INVO STALLED SFC FNT IN WW RGN XPCD TO SPRD ENE ALG
BNDRY THIS AFTN IN RESPONSE TO CONTD DAYTIME HTG.  MESOSCALE UVV
OVR RGN MAY BE ENHANCED BY APPARENT HILVL SPD MAX ATTM MOVG NE ACRS
THE ERN GULF.  RICH GULF/WRN ATLC AMS PRESENT S OF BNDRY...WITH SFC
DWPTS IN THE UPR 60S TO ARND 70. 

...CORFIDI

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Florida, 1997 Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997 Every tornado watch in 1997

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.